Pictura Translucida between Material and Immaterial. Observations on High Medieval European Polychrome Wood Sculptures

This paper discusses the concept and use of Pictura translucida, which is the application of coloured oily and resinous coatings on a reflective ground. The paper argues that this technique, which was first described in Theophilus’ Schedula diversarum artium, was applied on metallic surfaces as well as on pigmented ones. The focus is on the specific methods of application of this technique, its purpose, and its semantic use in high medieval polychrome sculpture.